One with the light one with the dark
by desmondXval
Summary: Join Valenie as she steps into a world of the unknown,trying to find the truth behind her father's death and fall in love at the same time. Remember to review :D
1. Chapter 1

The cool wind blew strongly, caressing my hair and pushing me foward, as if beckoning me to go where it took me.

"Val, come on! We are behind time already!"

"Coming, Mum!"

I haven't formally introduced myself, I am Valenie Angel, 19 years old currently and shifting houses again. I live with my mother as my father died when I was very young due to a car crash. No matter how many times I ask my mother about the car crash she always told me she had no idea. I guess she didn't want to tell me the gory details of the accident.

I grabbed my rucksack and looked at the exterior of the house for the last time. I took care to take note of the surroundings, to remember each and every detail as this was the place where I had my fondest memories. I gripped my backpack tighter and bit my lip to prevent tears from falling. I opened the car door of the red, old car and pushed my bag inside I waved goodbye to the house and to anyone who could see me. I sighed and texted my friends that I would be going to a distant faraway place where I will not fit in and people will look at me like I was an alien. I closed the car door behind me and my mother started the car and we were off.

Throughout the car journey I stared at the clouds in the blue sky. It was hard to believe that I would still live under the same sky with all my friends. The ringing of my phone snapped me back to reality. I dug into my enormous rucksack for my phone and wondered why in the world would I have bought such a big bag in the first place._Oh! It was my best friend who pulled me to buy one of those as it was part of the trend._ A small smile played at my lips. It was very funny yet I couldn't seem to make myself smile. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to walk down memory lane. All too soon I was here.

**The distant rumbling of car came from a far distance, two to three kilometres perhaps? Maybe further. The rain had masked the sound a little. **_**Coming to our school perhaps? Still, just another person to deal with**_**. The smell of blood had filled the air with rust and salt. It would seem that way to humans, but it smelled heavenly to vampires. It also signalled the arrival of dear Roxanne, my sister. I am Desmond Devilo. One of the eternal damned, that is, a vampire.**

**The door banged and it creaked with disapproval of my sister's treatment. **

**"Do you need to be so rough?"**

**My sister shrugged in reply, her blonde curls falling behind her shoulders. Her blue eyes always seem to look further than what is on the outside. I looked in dismay at the blood dripping from her red lips. **

**"You better pray that no one saw that."**

**My sister wiped away the blood from her lips and asked me about the human.**

**"What human?"**

**"The one that is on her way here." **

**"Can you see her face?"**

**I concentrated hard on the car.**_** One? Two voices. **_

**"Ah..."**

**"What?" Roxanne asked.**

**"Two humans."**

**Roxanne walked out of the room. I turned back to the small human at the back of the car. She had brown hazelnut coloured eyes, long brown hair and pale rose coloured lips. She looked like an angel.**

The pitter-patter of raindrops woke me. _Great! A wet welcome..._I pushed my hair out of my eyes and pulled my blue jacket closer to myself. I looked at the street lights appearing in the distance then fading into the darkness behind.

A very grand house came into view, it was situated at the top of the hill, even when the colours were so bright and cheery it seemed dark. The car screeched to a sudden halt and my mother mumbled an apology.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, we have reached."

I glanced up just to realise that we were in the driveway of a house two storeys high. It was pink and blue, with square windows and a front garden with wilting roses lining up on either side of the path. I went behind to help the luggage and dragged it all the way to the house. I gripped the key in my hand and walked silently to the doorstep. The locked clicked and I pushed the door open with much effort. A creaking sound broke the silence._ Will this wake the entire neighbourhood? Everyone will know that I am coming home or something._ I heaved with effort due the backpack. What greeted me was a comforting sight, even though the house looked dreary on the outside, the interior was tastefully decorated with a small sofa facing the television and a dining big enough for four._ That's big enough. I don't think we will expect anyone for dinner._ The interior was painted sky blue with lime green and the steps were white with a glossy look to it.

"Pick a room, there is more than enough rooms."

I jumped; I did not hear my mother coming. I nodded quickly, eager to unpack. I let my hand gently trail along the rough wall on my way up. There were three rooms and two bathrooms. I took a peek into all of the rooms before settling on the one which faced the road. I really liked the window in this particular room as there was an extension of the wall below the window, allowing me to sit comfortably on the bottom of the window. I picture myself on some pillows sipping hot chocolate and reading a nice novel. The room looked sweet, literally. There was an assortment of cakes, chocolate and ice-cream on the walls which drew me to the room in the first place, I have a sweet tooth. Baby pink walls with a sort of creamy yellow touch to it, a small radio the shape of an ice-cream sat on the table in the far right corner of the room. Built in cupboards were decorated with posters of all shapes and sizes. After another look, I realised they were drawings of a family, probably the one which lived here previously. Light knocks on the door announced my mother's arrival. I turned to look at her.

"How many people used to live here? Are there five people? Why did they go?"

My mother was surprised and did not know how to answer me.

"How did you..."

I tapped the cupboard door and sighed, _some of the drawings were so big how could she have missed it?_ I sat on my bed in the left side of the room. And started unpacking.

"I will be going out to get a better look of the place. Can I take the car?"

"But what if you..."

"Mom! I have a licence."

My mother opened her mouth to speak but I cut in.

"And... I won't get lost. I have a built-in GPS, remember? Much like a homing pigeon."

While pushing my mother out of the door, I pleaded for her to cook spaghetti. She thought about it and told me to buy beef and noodles. I looked at her and arched an eyebrow.

"I haven't gone out in a while and the cupboards are bare. Unless you want to eat imaginary pasta..."

My tummy growled. I grabbed my jacket and wallet resting on the bed and ran quickly out of the house. I reached the car and dug around my pocket for my car keys.

"Val. The car keys are on the table!"

"Oh okay, thanks!"

I smiled sheepishly at my mother and went back into the house for the car keys. _Finally! I am getting a chance to drive._ I slid into the car seat and started the car. The rhythmic falling of the rain onto the windscreen, created a steady beat, soothing to my ears. I stepped on the pedal and the car lurched forward, and then groaned. It spluttered and died.

"Oh my gosh! I killed it."

I banged the steering wheel and tried to start it again. Nothing. I killed the car._Ahhh! I KILLED THE CAR! Mom's gonna kill me!_

**I chuckled. That old car was a goner from the start. **_**If only she knew what her mother was thinking. How could she? She is not like me.**_

**"What's so funny?"**

**"Mum."**

**My mother's pale face shone in the sunlight. She seemed aged, yet as a vampire she couldn't have**_**. What was it? Her green eyes? Or the wrinkles that appeared when she smiled? Her hair had always stayed brown with a hint of ebony. **_**My mother had probably been worrying. **

**"Do you think you can complete the school year?"**

**I nodded unsure yet hoping that I would not cave in to my desires. For blood. I wrinkled my face in disgust. My mother, Emilia, patted me on the head and said,**

**"Don't put pressure on yourself."**

**I listened half-heartedly, the back of my mind wandered to the inconspicuous human in the towncenter. A babble of voices filled my head. But I only wanted to listen to one voice. Her voice. **

I hopped out of the car slammed the door and ran as fast as I could till I couldn't see the house any longer. Panting, I continued walking. The town centre was in front and I could see the pasta and butcher shop side by side round the corner. I felt the warmth of the sun embrace through the cold rain. A gust came at me and as sudden as it came, it went. I shook my head. _Is it me or did I see something there?_

**A sudden emotion had washed through me just as Val experienced it. Shock. **

**"Roxanne." I said through gritted teeth.**

**I listened carefully to the small voice in her head. Relief had washed through me when Val brushed my sister off as a figment of her imagination.**

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The tinkling of bells as pushed through the butcher door alerted my arrival. The butcher, a lady of about 45 years of age, greeted me. _Wow! I didn't expect the butcher to be a woman... this seems more of a man's job._

"Are you the lady who just moved here?"

"Um...yeah I guess I just moved here, how did you know?"

"Word of mouth gets around quickly ya know? After all we are quite a small town."

"I would like to buy minced beef, please."

_Boy was I in for a surprise of how quickly everyone knew of my arrival._ The butcher smiled and gave me more then I asked for. I paid the money and went out of the shop. The pasta shop was filled with a sort of wheat smell. It was pretty warm and cosy. When I finished making my purchases and was about to walk out the door, two guys, one with blond hair, green eyes and small build and one with reddish brown, a lengthy build and blue eyes came in and bumped into me.

"I am sooo sorry, did I hurt you miss?"

I nodded. The guys seemed to be looking at me. _Is it a pimple? No way! _

**I almost jumped out of my seat. I looked at the audacious person. **_**Ha! Rick Clyon, the so-called ladies man.**_** I studied Val's face while listening to her voice. She thought she had a pimple. When the guys were thinking of whether she just moved into town.**_** A**__** pimple... hardly...her face is flawless. Jewel-like eyes which were exactly like Roxanne's; it looked into your soul. **_

"You are the pretty girl which just moved into town!"

Is it on the newspapers or something? I can see the headlines. _Girl, 19 moves house due to circumstances._ It was like the whole town knew of my arrival. The guys were called Kelvin, the blond one and Rick, the reddish brown haired one.

**I smiled. Her thoughts were different from others. She has funny misconceptions of what people think. It was easy for me as I knew exactly what people thought. It was a small town. Val should have expected it. The only thing that the guys got correctly was the fact that Val is pretty. The simpletons.****  
** "Are you coming to Dakota College with us?"

"Huh?

Town I should be, after all it is the only college here right?"

Kelvin and Rick politely walked me home and filled me on St. Vampere.

"Meet you in school! Do you need us fetch you?"

I declined the offer. _They were really nice, maybe I will fit in after all._ At dinner, I told my mom about the guys. She was pleasantly surprised that I made new friends in such a short period of time. I washed my plate and walked up to my room. It was the way I had left it. Clothes strewn around and hardly packed. I opened the window to allow fresh air to replace the stale musty one in the room. I set my laptop on the table and my MP3 beside it. I lay on the bed and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

**I moved silently to the bed, a mere prop in the house, like the kitchen. I picked out a book from the vast library in the room. As I read the book, I trained my thoughts on Val. Her dreams would show things about her, mostly her personality, what really went on in her mind. I got up after a while to go hunting, I saw in the mirror the colour of my eyes changing. I felt really thirsty too. The burning sensation had returned .I also knew that I had to prepare myself for tomorrow. The forest had a vast number of preys. The smell of animals filled my nostrils. I let the nicest smell guide me towards it. The kill was fast and accurate. It was over in a minute. I wiped the blood trail from my mouth and proceeded home. ****  
**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Two eyes watched from the window, a hand reached out towards Valenie...**_

My mother came into my room early the next morning, she told me it was time for me to go to school.

" Go away school's not open for another two days!"

"No, it's not. It starts today and you are late!"

My eyes fluttered open and I resisted the urge to bang my head on the table.

" I don't have my books, how am I going to school?"

" The school provides it, now get up."

I waved my mother away and trudged towards the bathroom. I combed my silky hair and brushed my teeth. I a_m soooo going to disappear into the background, if no one notices me even better. _Grabbing a piece of bread, I was just about to walk out the door when, my mother stopped me. _Uh oh! Is it about the car? Oh my gosh!_

"About the car...I"

" I didn't mean to I..."

" I am going to change to a new car."

" I was going to tell you...what did you say?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, there was a change in cars. The other one is so old I could swear it was about a hundred years old.

It was early in the morning when I realised that there was school today. Of course Val hadn't known. The boys did not tell her anything. I laughed at the excuses in Val's head. Her dislike for school grew in her head as she thought of the reasons. It was impossible for Val to disappear into background, she should know that. I closed my eyes and picked something from inside the cupboard, I couldn't be bothered to pick. I drove quickly to school, anxious to see Val face to face.

" Bye! I'm late remember!"

I stepped outside and walked down the street. Then, it hit me. I didn't know where is school. A honking sound from behind made me turn around._ It was Kelvin and Rick! I thought I would never get to school._ I waved and smiled. They drove up to me and said,

"Need a ride?"

I laughed and nodded. School wasn't what I expected, in a good way of course. Instead of the old run down school which I pictured, the school was bright and cheerful and didn't look run down at all. They were up-to-date in terms of technology too. I felt everyone staring at me as I walked through the hallway. Sometimes there was giggling and an occasional , it was bustling with life. Rick pulled me towards the office and greeted the clerk there warmly, he pointed to me, himself then Kelvin. The clerk nodded and looked my way. She dug up some papers and pushed it towards Rick. He then brought it over to me and told me to fill them up! I sighed and dragged myself to the first class in the timetable, English. Never ending introductions the entire day! The teacher introduced himself as Mr Mor and told me to sit somewhere in the class, Rick told me to sit beside him and gestured me to my seat. No introductions? That's weird. Mr Mor tapped me on the shoulder and told me to say my name.

"Uh.. I...uh...am Valenie Angel."

The classed ahhed at my name. You must admit, it's pretty unique. I put my oversized bag onto the ground and tried to sit as comfortably as I can on a hard seat. Next class was Trigonometry, the exact same thing happened except for the teacher having a different name. Her name was Ms Torini. I started spying a few same faces in both classes and they seemed pretty nice. Then came lunch. The supposedly best subject I have. I grabbed some sandwiches and Kelvin came to bring me to their seat.

" Looking good, so your day must be fine right."

I took a bite and lifted up my hand and tilted it from side to side to show that it was okay.

" I am Liliana."

I found a girl with jet black hair, with a big smile looking at me and holding up her hand. I shook it.

" There he is!"

"Who?"

" The ultra most handsome guy in the school that's who!"

The day went without so much as a yawn,compared to the previous days. The things that I was supposed to learn,I had learned. But, because I was so concentrated on Val, I wasn't bored. In fact, I was constantly amused by her. Liliana, the constant gossiper and avid fan of mine, had just pointed Val towards my direction. I waited patiently to hear what she thought of me.

She pointed in a direction and i turned that way. A guy, with golden brown hair, a sun kissed face, tall and muscular build and the most liquid gold eyes I have ever seen was sitting at the far end of the cafeteria and seemed to be staring at us. He wore a simple light greyish blue turtleneck shirt and long khaki coloured pants. He looked like the kind of guy which looks good in whatever he wears no matter how ugly it was._ Wow!He is handsome._ Just when I thought of that, he smiled and seemed to be laughing to himself.

I caught Val's smell in the gust of wind. Her smell...was so...unique...She is it. My destined other half.

There was a sudden gust of wind and his eyes caught mine, it looked different somehow but I don't know why. The bell rang for the next lesson, so I finished up my sandwich and cleared the tray. Rick told me that from here on we do not have the same classes together, except with Liliana. We walked to class together and to my surprise the guy from the canteen was inside my class. There were no empty seats except for the one next to him so the teacher, Mr Ders, asked me to sit there. I don't think that he will like me, after all I look better as part of the wallpaper. I slid into the seat and tried to stay as far as possible from him. The way he looked at me made me feel a bit uneasy, yet he made me want to understand him better and want to be as close to him as possible._ Why was that so?Why do feel that I want to be as close to him as possible? _The golden haired guy looked at me then frowned. I was taken aback and looked away.

Of everything that could happen to me, my other half wanted to be with me because of the traits which make humans like us. I must have shocked Val. It was purely unintentional. I decided to make things right.

" Hi! I saw you at the cafeteria and did not get the chance to introduce myself, I am Desmond Devilo. Very pleased to meet you. You must be Valenie!"

Desmond's voice was so musical it was hard to believe that he wasn't gave me a mega watt smile which melted my heart in a snap. The teacher called for our attention and told us to do our homework in pairs. Suddenly the entire class was staring at both of us. _That's awkward... _There was a light tap on my hand and I looked to the side. Desmond gave me a reassuring smile.

I could feel Val's pure uneasiness with the sudden attention. My still heart ached for her. She seemed very vunerable. I had decided to take the chance of exposing myself and decided to use the phrase which she thought of. I hoped that I managed to pull it off as a coincedence.

"It always happens! Pairing up with the hottest guy in the block, who looks like the type which looks good in whatever he wears no matter how ugly it is."

I smiled then halted. _This is as if he was reading my mind._

Obviously,it didn't work. Val was too observant. She had immediately linked it to mind-reading. _Hmmm...never 's wrong stays wrong. I won't die from this, since i'm already dead._

I caught Desmond winking at me. All to soon it was the end of class, I had really enjoyed his company. As I was walking out of the class I tripped, sending books and papers flying all over the place.

I knew that I was taking a risk, but I could never forgive myself if Val got hurt. I caught her and her papers and prayed that she wouldn't feel like I was different. People were applauding me in their mind and was surprised at my amazing feat, as for Val, she was mentally shocked. _Aarrrghhh! I should have left the damn papers alone._

Desmond caught me, the books and the papers all at once. It was as if I was in a movie and all these things were already set up. Everytime our eyes connect, I get different feeling from him. It was as if electricity filled the place, flying around wildly. He brought me back up and gave me my was then when I felt that Desmond's hand was very cold. I held his hands in mine and tried to warm it up for him.

" Your hands... Are you okay?"

Desmond retracted his hands so quickly it scared me.

" Um...they are okay,it has always been like that."

He gestured his towards the door.

" We have the next class together, you want to walk with me?"

We walked together and talked,mostly about myself though, he didn't like talking about himself and was being the most perfect gentleman. Even then, I realised he was different.

" Why did you come here? What do you normally like to do?Do you a lot of friends in your last town?"

"It was due to my mum's work. I don't know and not I ask you questions too?"

He shrugged and walked faster leaving me behind.

"Wait up!"

We sat together for the next class as well, it seems that nobody in the class wants to sit with him.

"Why doesn't anyone sit with you?"

At the question, his expression changed._Somewhat lonely, a hint of sadness or maybe bitterness?_ He shook his head and mouthed the word tommorow. Finally, it was the end of school. Desmond followed me out the door. There, Rick was waiting.

" Need a ride?"

" I am sending her home, we have much to talk about."

With a hint of jealousy in his tone, Desmond had said.

"We do?"

He dragged me away from Rick with more then enough force. I frowned. Once in his shiny new Volvo, he looked at me at smiled. I stared at him suspiciously.

"I don't know what you're smiling about and I don't want to know."

He chuckled and started the expected from a new car, it purred instead of producing a choking sound like my old ancient red car. All the time Desmond was driving, he watched me from the corners of his eyes, as if he was studying me. He never missed a traffic light nor a turn.

"That's your house right?"

" how did you know?"

He pulled over at my house and helped me to open the door before I had the chance to do it myself. I thanked him and my mother appeared from nowhere.

"Would you like to come in?"

"Mom!"

"I would love too."

"Desmond!"

_Can I please go and die now?_ I trudged into the house and glared at Desmond who smiled back at me. _I am going to faint_. As if on cue Desmond looked at me and asked if I was okay.

I let out a low growl. My mother looked behind.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No..."

I hissed.

"I won't be staying long...I still have work to do."

I let out a silent yes. It seems like Desmond's 'not be staying long' is about a minute. That's what I am talking about. He ran out of the house. Fast. Too fast. It didn't seem normal for a human_. What if he was...it's impossible...Or was it_?

The call was important. Roxanne almost lost herself over the human which cut his hand during cooking class. She needed calming down and I had to reassure her. My car couldn't go fast enough and I was anxious, _if Val was the one what would have happened? _The endless possibilities flooded my mind.


	3. Chapter 3

pulled a gray jacket and drank breakfast. Roxanne brought in new kill. Perfect. I kissed mum on the cheek and Roxanne looked at me excitedly.

"What?"

"You look different."

"Really? And pray tell me what is different about me?" I enquired.

"I can't put my finger on it. But there's something different."

"Even the person who tells people's feelings can't put her finger on it? I'm surprised."

"For your info, I don't tell other people's feelings. What I do is hyp-no-sis. Or mind control."

"Whatever."

I left the house with Roxanne fuming. I had places to go. One place in particular.

I woke up bright and early the next morning. It was a school day...I skipped into the kitchen and thought about what I was going to do for the day. I walked out of the house just to do a double take. A shiny,sparking clean Volvo was at on the opposite street. _Is it..._ My questions were answered when a familiar looking figure trotted over.

"Time for school. Let's go!"

"Since when were we such good friends?"

Desmond faked a hurt look.

"I thought since yesterday."

"Harhar very funny."

He gestured towards the car. I wanted to reject him but sitting in his car was way better than sitting in mine. His car smelled nicer too.

"Today is my turn."

"For the questions?"

"Uh huh."

He sighed and asked me if his life was that interesting. He sat in the car and looked at me.

"Ask away..."

It was cheating, but I listened to the questions forming in her head. She was an inquisitive girl and questions formed one after the other in her head.

"Who do you have in your family? Do they look as nice as you and why are you normally alone?"

As he drove, he continued to remain silent.

"I have four other people in my family, my parents, a sister and a brother. Looks wise, let's say we look about the same and I don't think anyone likes to get stared at on a daily basis."

_Really? But I have a feeling he's missing some details on purpose. _

"Why don't I see your sister in school?"

"She long graduated last year."

After a short while, he said,

"We are at school!"

"Here already?"

"Sad? Don't worry we still have three classes together!"

I got out of the car and walked towards class, Desmond effortlessly kept up and wanted to take my hand but seemed to think better of it.

"See you!"

I waved and walked into class. The entire class was staring, but the girls are mostly glaring. I was stunned.

I walked down the hallway to my class, replaying the reactions to my every answer. I laughed at her final reaction at the time when I left her. Trouble in class should be something that she would have to get used to. After all, she was with me.

Rick walked in front and ushered me to my seat and told me not to space out. Suddenly all my classes without Desmond seemed really boring, like there was nothing for me to look forward to anymore, even when it is at my favourite subject. It was Physical Education with Desmond. He popped over after my class to walk with me. After changing I got into position at the sports hall. Desmond was already there. I was just about to walk to him when I paused. _What if I get killed for this? The girls seem to like Desmond a lot. _As usual Desmond seemed to be reading my mind. He sort of ran towards me.

"The girls are more interested in you than in the game."

"Jealous?"

I shook my head and gave him a pissed look, which seemed to start a bout of chuckles.

"Class positions! Split yourself into teams of five! We are doing volleyball today."

Giggling from a group of girls caught Desmond's attention.

_"I might do something to her! What about this?"_ the first girl said.

The girl, Brianna whispered to her other minions what they were going to do to Val. They wanted to humiliate her.

His face turned dark than he resumed his normal expression. Liliana pulled me, Kelvin and another girl which I recognized as Rebbeca. Not wanting to leave Desmond behind I roped him in also. I tugged at Desmond's shirt and said,

"I am not really good at sports and if you will look the other side,"

I pointed at the group of girls, "They like you a lot and I am sure that they are going to make me pay for something during volleyball."

He nodded grimly and told me to relax.

"Game on!"

The girl from the other team said and sent a ball flying towards my side. I managed to hit it upwards and Liliana came from behind to hit it forward. It scored us a point. I high fived Liliana. The other balls came fast and hard, it was hard to deflect and the opposition gained a point. This one particular girl, Brianna came up to the net to smile at me smugly.

Brianna...I hissed her name in my mind. Vile thoughts were forming in her head and they were directed towards Val. I wanted so much to stop it.

I sensed Desmond ready to move forward and purposely put my hand in front to stop him. Brianna must have seen something in Desmond's eyes, she slinked further into the background. But that didn't stop her from smacking one ball in my direction when I wasn't looking.

I was angry, filled with hatred towards the girl with horrible thoughts. That was the last straw. I could bear it no longer. I looked at Val in shock. She wasn't looking at the opponent. Only she would do such a thing. _No... not Val... I must do something..._My body tensed and I shot forward. I managed to use enough force to deflect the ball back yet not hurt anyone else. I was relieved that I managed to control my anger without a hitch. I had to teach her a lesson. How?

I decided to scare her to death using just my eyes. It is possible. Vampires have killer stares.

"Do not do that again."

There was a hint of hostility in Desmond's voice. Brianna seemed even more intimidated and apologized profusely. She walked away. She had shown no sign of remorse in her face.

"It's obvious that she is lying." I mused.

"I hate liars."

"What if I lied to you?"

"I'd have your head. But I know you wouldn't right?"

That question caught me off guard. The trust in her voice is overwhelming. I was keeping a huge secret from her yet she trusted me. I didn't do anything to deserve her trust. Especially not me.

Desmond nodded his head slowly, like he was convincing himself that what he was saying was true. He asked me if I wanted to go out with him tonight. Not knowing what else to say I nodded. He gave a very satisfied smile and walked towards the teacher, or should I say swagger. The only people who didn't think it was different from his usual walking was the girls.

Kelvin came over to me and asked,

"What's up with him?"

I shrugged and told him I didn't know and he was probably trying to show off.

"Bye sweetie."

Kelvin gave me an air kiss and Desmond spun around quickly. He glared menacingly at Kelvin.

The puny human. He actually dared to pit himself against me. Ha! He would never stand a chance. I could flick him to the next street.

_Jealous? Impossible._ Desmond's gaze softened as he turned towards me. I looked at him questioningly. He shrugged and turned back to his conversation with the teacher.

At the end of the lesson Desmond and I walked out of class together.

"What's that about?"

"What's what?"

"You know... the thing about you glaring at Kelvin."

"Oh! That..."

Desmond pursed his lips and looked at me thoughtfully.

"Not planning to explain."

"What!"

"And we are late for class."

I spent the entire hour in class wondering if he was jealous. _If he is jealous, that would mean..._I looked at Desmond and for once he wasn't looking at me. He was probably pretending that he was paying attention.

If only she knew. She would understand that much better. But I can't let her know.

He had a small smile on his lips. I looked at the board. _Was something funny? Nope, teacher as boring as ever, just told a joke? Never. Then what is so funny_?

"Unhappy because I didn't look at you?"

Desmond's voice drifted towards me.

"No...Why should I?"

I could feel my face become hot and pictured myself blushing. I clapped my hands over my face and sunk lower into the seat.

"I will pick you up tonight, seven o' clock."

"Mm...okay."

After school, Desmond fetched me home as always, I could feel the atmosphere was different, like Desmond wanted to tell me something but time and again he withdrew.

"Remember..."

"Seven...got it."


	4. Chapter 4

I lay on the bed and thought about all the things which happened these few days, it seemed that I kept on getting into trouble everywhere I go and the thing that comforts me was the fact that Desmond had saved me for all occasions.

I had pulled up outside her house but she wouldn't have heard it. My car doesn't make a racket. Unlike hers.

I hugged the pillow on my bed, it was all too soon before it was time. I sprang out of bed and went to the cupboard to choose my clothes. _Pink one or the blue one...They are equally nice. _I laid the choices on my bed and let the cloth of the shirts fall on through my hand on to the bed gently.

"Val!"

"What?"

Light footsteps in the corridor and there he was! He was practically glowing. Desmond smiled at me and asked,

"Do you normally take so long to prepare?"

"Uh no..."

"Ah I see!"

An impish grin and he was out of the room. I threw on a pair of jeans and the blue colour t-shirt. I ran down the steps, two at a time and rounded a sharp turn. I banged into you-know-who and it felt like I banged into a huge rock. Desmond held me gently, as if I would break with his touch.

_I shouldn't have stood there. What was I thinking? _Please be okay...It must have been very horrible. Wish I was a human...It would have been a lot better.

"I'm fine."

He let his hands drop to his side and laughed heartily. I shook my head and pushed him aside and strode towards the door. Desmond stopped laughing almost immediately and followed after. The car smelled sweet as always and soft music from the radio played in the background.

"Where are we going?"

"A French restaurant."

Desmond replied matter-of-factly. I almost went into shock.

"What! You can't expect me to wear this to some fancy schmancy restaurant!"

Desmond shrugged and asked where I had in mind.

I thought for a moment and decided that a cafe would be best. Trust Desmond to bring me to the most expensive one in Vampere. The bright neon sign shone in my face. He helped me out of the car. The atmosphere was warm and cosy. Perfect for small talk. The waitress showed us to the seats smack dab in the middle of the restaurant. People were staring and whispering. It was uncomfortable and I didn't really like it. Desmond sensed my discomfort and waved a huge amount of money in the air dramatically.

"Clear the restaurant, will you please?"

"Des...wait..."

I tried a swipe at his hand but he was too tall. The waitress did not know what to do and immediately got her boss. The lady boss was charmed by Desmond. _Who wouldn't be? _He seems perfect. Dejected customers left one by one looking pointedly at who was crazy enough to book the place. It just so happened that the crazy fella had the face of an angel. After the restaurant cleared the waitress showed us to our seats again. Desmond didn't care about her and ushered me to our seat in the furthermost corner of the place, which was previously empty even before we came in.

"You've got a serious problem you know that?"

"It only begun when I met you." I heard myself answering softly.

So softly that Val thought that she had been hearing things. Yet it was so real to her.

"May I take your order?"

I found the waiter looking at Val with adoring eyes. It irritated me immensely. Shocked by the sudden attention, Val mumbled. The waiter clearly did not understand and before she could make myself clear, I answered for her.

"She would like Coke and chicken pasta."

The waiter busily took my order and continued looking at Val until I cleared my throat.

Another puny human like Rick. I didn't like the attention he was showering on Val. It was a strange feeling, anger from deep within.

"I would like what she is having, thank you."

My voice had a sharp edge to it and I stared daggers at the poor waiter, allowing my pent up anger to flow from the stare. He was utterly mortified.

"You do know that he was captivated by you."

Val snorted and said that I lost my mind.

"Seriously Val, didn't you notice how pretty you are?"

"Nope."

She answered flatly, no emotion, nada. The waiter returned with our food and drinks. She stabbed at the pasta, twirled then put it in her mouth. I wasn't going to eat, after all I couldn't. I glared long and hard in the direction of the kitchen. The waiter had a lot going on in his head. And it was about Val.

"Yes?"

"No, nothing, but why the sudden interest in taking me out for dinner?"

Desmond cocked his head to the side and looked like he was thinking of what to tell me.

"Val, let me ask you simple question. What if I am not human?"

"Impossible."

I looked towards my food and pretended that I found new interest in it.

"Look at me Val and answer truthfully."

"I need to clear my head for a bit."

Suddenly, I was aware of the pain travelling up my spine. I was being held at knife point.

"Your valuables...hurry!"

A very gruff voice commanded. I dug into my pocket for the money and felt the knife jabbing deeper into my skin. A small trickle of blood ran down my back. I winced in pain and looked for anyone or anything that could help. The restaurant seemed so far away and I didn't think anyone could hear me if I screamed. Even worse, I could get killed even before I screamed.

"Hurry up ya lady!"

"Let her go!"

I ran swiftly towards the small voice crying out to me. What greeted me was a horrid sight. The vile person dared to hurt Val. My eyes trailed to the knife held in the robber's hand. I drew in a sharp intake of breath. My throat burned but I knew I could never hurt Val. I tried to focus on the robber to try to ease the pain in my throat.

"Let...Her...Go..."

He growled in a low voice.

"Don't move or the lady gets it."

To prove his point he brought the knife to my face and pressed down. The sting from the wound was unbearable, I gasped. Desmond looked pained then his face hardened into something far scarier than I have ever seen him before. One moment he was there, the next, he was gone and then reappeared beside me. With the slight flick of his fingers, he beat the robber into the ground. He pulled me behind him and hissed at the robber.

"Let's go."

"Where?"

"Home. I have to tell you the truth."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the car. He drove me quickly home, not a word of what happened or confirmation of what I saw. My face stung and my back hurt. Blood was on my hands and it was awful. Silently, Desmond got out of the car and carried me into the house. The floorboards which used to creak at my every step made nary a sound.

"Why are we so quiet?"

"I can't afford your mother to wake up. The truth is just for you and me."

I nodded not understanding but all- believing. Desmond set me lightly on the bed and disappeared. He reappeared a few seconds later with the first aid kit box. Gently he held my face in his hands and rubbed the wound with a little alcohol and then used a plaster over it. Not to mention it stung, horribly. He handed me the bottle of alcohol and a piece of cloth.


End file.
